Bottle-capping machine



Oct. 23, 1951 A EDGERTON 2,572,704

B OTTLE- CAPP ING MACHINE Filed April 50, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 1role/V5211 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

A. H. EDGERTON BOTTLE-CAPPING MACHINE Oct. 23, 1951 Filed April 50, 19475 sheets-sheet s A. H. EDGERTON BOTTLE-CAPPING MACHINE Filed April 30,1947 Oct. 23, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 A. H. EDGERTON BOTTLE-CAPPINGMACHINE Filed April 30, 1947 Oct. 23, 1951 Oct. 23, 1951 A. H. EDGERTON2,572,704

' BOTTLE-CAPPiNG MACHINE Filed April 30, 1947 i 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIZJIDINVENTOR. /7///7ur [age/'70.

Patented Oct. 23, 1951 BOTTLE-CAPPING MACHINE Arthur H. Edgerton, RockyRiver, Ohio, assignor to Harold D. Laidley, Cleveland, Ohio ApplicationApril 30, 1947, Serial No. 744,926

8 Claims.

This invention relates broadly to bottle capping machines and morespecifically to mechanism for the fabrication and affixation ofwaterproof caps to the top and neck of bottles.

One of the objects of the invention is to apply an adhesive to one faceof a continuous strip of waterproof paper or film, then progressivelyfabricate a blank therefrom, draw the blank over the end of a bottle,press the blank into sealed relation with the neck thereof, and as afinal step in the operative cycle, draw a requisite length of new filmunder a punch while simultaneously advancing another bottle intoposition under a Another object of the invention is to provide asanitary seal for a bottle which is designed to cover the cork or crownthereon and a substantial portion of the neck.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bottle cap which iswater and germ proof et susceptible of ready removal.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sealing mechanism whichis designed for automatic actuation within the operative cycle of themachine.

Another object of the invention is to provide an escapement movementwhich will accommodate translation of the cap film while the punch andthe accessorial parts thereto are at rest.

Still another object of the invention resides in the provision of amachine which is economical in operation, capable of high speedproduction, sturdy and durable of structure and designed for use withminimum care and attention.

Other objects and advantages, more or less ancillary to the foregoingand the manner in which all the various objects are realized will appearin the following description and accompanying drawings wherein there isassembled and pointed out certain details of structure and aggroupmentof parts connotative of the scope of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred embodiment ofthe invention:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the improved capping machine;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof;v

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the machine;

Fig. 4 is an opposite side view of a fragmentary portion of the machineillustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view shown on an enlarged scale of thepunch and sealing mechanism associated therewith;

Fig. 6 is a similar sectional view shown in an actuated position;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view through the punch illustrating the positionof the sealing fingers when sprung into engagement with the neck of thebottle;

Fig. 8 is a transverse section through the sealing fingers, the sectionbeing taken on a plane I indicated by the line 88 in Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a similar section taken on the line 9-9 in Fig.7;

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal section through the film feed roll;

Fig. 11 is a transverse sectional view through the feed roll, thesection being taken on a plane indicated by the line I ll I in Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a section taken on the line l2-l2 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 18 is an end elevational view of a modified form of the punch.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the machine comprises generally a bed plate[0 having a cylindrical punch guide ll mounted thereon, a gum boxadjacent thereto, a paper roll stanchion l2, a feed roll I3 and a frameM for the support of the ears and driving connections for the punch andfeed roll.

The power input is preferably taken from a gear or the pulley l5 (Figs.4 and 14) mounted on a shaft l6 supported in a bracket l1 and a journalbearing 18 in the frame [4. The shaft I6 is provided with a pair ofmutilated gears I9 and 20 which are keyed thereto and intermeshed withpinions 2| and 22'respectively. The pinion 2| is keyed to a shaft 23journaled in a bearing 24 in the frame M, the gear 22 is, however,mounted for free rotation thereon. The outer end of the shaft 23 has acrank arm 25 keyed thereto which supports a connecting rod 26 coupledwith the stern of a tubular punch 21.

The second pinion 22 is entrained with a gear 28 (Fig. 4) having apintle 29 thereon for the reception of a connecting rod 30 which iscoupled with a push rod 3| interlinked with an arm 32 on the feed rollshaft 33. The shaft is mounted in a bored boss 34 in the frame [4 and abearing block 35 on the bed plate Ill. The central portion of the shaftis diametrically enlarged and. provided with a ratchet clutch 36 (Fi 10)which drives a sleeve 31 having pins 38 in the face thereof for piercingthe paper or film under the punch in order to effect the translationthereof. The pintle 29 is positioned on the gear 28 to effect themovement of the arm 32 through an arc of ninety degrees and the arm isformed with a slot 40 therein to compensate for the arcuate movementthereof. The circumference of the sleeve is four times the dimension atindicated in Fig. 3, i. e. the diameter of the punch plus the web Wwhich is of sufficient area .to hold the fabricated waste materialintact during the stock feed operation. Thus as the arm 32 is actuatedin its operative cycle, the sleeve 3'5 will be revolved and the pins 38will effect the withdrawal of the scrap from beneath the punch and thedelivery of new material thereto.

The mutilated gear I9 is twice'the diameter of the pinion 2! entrainedtherewith and the teeth on one half of the circumferential face thereofare removed, hence as the gear is revolved one hundred and eightydegrees the pinion will make one revolution and the punch 2'! will beactuated throughout a complete reciprocative cycle. The crankarm 25 ispositioned to reach top dead center as the 'last tooth on the gear l9leaves the pinion 21. Thus as the'gear I9 is rotated through theremaining portion of its cycle the plunger will be at rest iniitsretracted position. The pinion (2| may beheld from creep- .i-ng duringthe period in which the relieved portion of the gear 19 is rotated byany .of the 'well known expedients, for example, the sliding engagementof a concave tooth section on the pinion with the arcuate or strippedtooth area on the gear.

The mutilated gearlu and pinion 22 therefor are of similar construction,save that the teeth are removed from theopposite side of the gearso thatthe pinion 22 will be rotated when the pinion 2 l is idle. It will bereadily recognized from the ='for.egoing that the stock feed roll 13will be at rest during the reciprocative movement .of the punch, andthat the downward movement of the push rod 3| will-effect the operationof the feed roll [3 when the punch is held in its retractedposition.

The paper or film is preferably supplied in rolls .541, the'widththereof being greater than the diameter of the punch 22 in order toprovide adequate strengthtothe scrap or fabricated portion of the ribbonto facilitate the translation thereof through the machine under thetensiveactiono'f the feed roll 13. The pins 38 are disposed in thesleeve Bl of the feed roll assembly adjacent the outer edges thereof andpass through slots 4| in the die plate 42 as the sleeve is revolvedthereover. The scrap -may be deflected upwardly and removed fromthe'machine in any convenient manner after it leaves the feed roll l3.As the film stock orribbont3 'is drawn from the coil il it passes over aplaten .4 constituting a backing plate for a gum roll which is mountedin a reservoir tii containing an adhesive such as 'fluidic lateXor asimilar waterproof gum. The roll'is chargedby aroller 4'! mounted in thereservoir with the lower portion thereof immersed in the adhesive. Theroller 4'! andgum roll 45 may be provided with adjustable bearing blocks(not shown) of any conventional well known form to facilitate control'ofthe-quantity of adhesive applied to the film .by the applicator roll 45.As the ribbon 43 isadvanced it is supported in spacedrelation withthedie plate .42 by an arcuate guide 48 which terminates in the throatofarecess 59 in the base of the punch guide H The gummed surface .of theribbon 43 is held out of contact with the face of .the .die plate duringthe movementof the film by a roller 50 disposed adjacent thedischargeend of thezrecess-AE.

fhe .endzof the feed roll shaft 33 :is provided with a sprocket 5!(Figs. 2 and 3) having a chain thereon which is connected with a secondsprocket 52 on a shaft 53 that supports a conveyor gearset and belt 5.4.:The ibelt is provided with cups 55 disposed at intervals equal to thedistance indicated by the dimension a and the gearing between the feedroll and conveyor is designed to effect equal simultaneous movement ofthe ribbon A3 and conveyor belt, so that the bottlesmounted in'the cups55 will be moved into position under the punch upon each operative cycleof the feed roll l3.

Referring now to Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the punch guide II is formed withdiametrically opposed slots 55 in the side wall thereof having pins 51therein, which are provided to delimit thedescent of the punch'beyond apredetermined point. The punch is preferably, though not necessarily ofcylindrical form and provided with an internally beveled cutting edge53. The lower-end of the punch -is provided with an inwardly fiared ring'59 formed with crimping grooves 66 in the tapered face thereof and aledge in its upper face adjacent the throat thereof. The throat oropening in the ring is slightly larger than the portion of the neck ofthe bottle for which the punch is designed (see Fig. 6), so thatreentrant engagement of the punch may be made without the hazard ofcleavage between the bottle and the ring. The upper end 'of the punch"is providedwith a cap 5-! bored to facilitate -free movementof thepunch therein 'and'is cross-drilled for the reception of the pins 57.The punch stem '62 .is secured in aboss -63 of a plate --64 normallyurged into intimate engagement with the lower face of the capfi l "byaspring 65 disposed intermediatethe plate (it and the Ting-59. The spring65 is designed to outweigh the pressure required to pierce the film orribbon that overlies the die opening 66 but to yield under the pressureexerted through the gearing and crank arm 2 5 when the punch is broughtto rest by engagement of the pins 51 with the bottom of the slots 56.The lower face of theplate 64 is formed with an annular boss 61 which ismachined'for the retention of a cap sealingelement 68.

Thelower face of the "boss'is further machined with a recess formed in-configura-tion of the upper portionof the crown on a bottle. Thesealing element 68 comprises a-spr-ing steel cylinder having kerfs 69 inthe side wall =thereof constituting fingers "It and the central portionof the cylinder is --bowed 'inwardly- -to provide a normal camber inthe'fingers '10. The smallest internal diameter of the cylindricalelement 68 is slightlygreater than the maximum diameter of the bottlecrown or the bead adjacent the end of the bottle so that telescopicengagement of the punched and-*cr-imped blank of film within thecylinder may be .made without undue frictional contact with the bottle.vThe lower end of the slots 56 aredisposed so that the pins 57 will beengaged therewith before the crank arm 25 reaches bottom deadcenter,hence when the punch comes to rest and the push rod :62 and plate 84continue their descent the cambered fingers "Hi will buckle (Fig. :7)and press the gummed blank punched from the ribboninto sealed..eng,agement with the contiguous portion of the neck of the bottle. Astthe' punchiis 2re= tracted, the fingers :10 will regain theirunstressed formand permit the ready withdrawallof the sealing.element.-It will be notedithat the squeezing action of the fingers will cause thef reshly applied gum on the uneven surface of the cupped blank of paperor film to fiow in and about the crimped areas therein and thus form ahomogeneous mass of adhesive which when dry will effect a tightwaterproof seal.

If desired the gum may be applied by a roller which is designed to gumthe central portion of the blank but leave the marginal edges thereoffree from adhesive. Such a roll is illustrated in the modified formillustrated in Figs. 16 and 17, wherein the major portion of the roll isrelieved but a pad or medallion I I is provided to effect theapplication of the adhesive in the center of the punched blank with anarrow ungummed border about the circumference thereof. Alternately thepattern could be reversed and the roll could be formed to apply a bandor strip of gum upon or adjacent the marginal edge of the blank with thecentral portion thereof clear. In this embodiment the gum roll would beintergeared with 6. gearing therefor operable during inactive periods ofthe punch gearing.

3. A bottle capping machine comprising a punch, a crank for thereciprocation thereof, gearing for the operation of said crank, a stockfeed roll, intermittent gearing for the rotationthereof intergeared withsaid punch gearing and M operable when the punch is at rest, fingers insaid punch deformable toward the medial axis the feed roll so themedallion would be placed on the film with the center thereof in alignedrelation with the axis of the punch as the ribbon is drawn thereunder.

The paper or film may also be pregummed, that is formed with a full orpartial coating of adhesive on one side thereof. In this case the gumreservoir and applicator could be eliminated through a power driven reeland compensating gear would be required to relieve the tensive strainimposed upon the ribbon during the operative cycle of the feed roll.

A punch of an alternative form is illustrated in Fig. 18. In thisembodiment the periphery of the punch and die are scalloped in order toprovide finger tabs for the removal of the cap. A gum applicator whichis designed to leave one or more of the tabs 12 free from adhesive isfurther contemplated for use in combination therewith. With a cap thusformed the tabs may be firmly gripped between the thumb and forefingerand the cap readily stripped from the bottle.

Although th foregoing description is necessarily of a detailedcharacter, in order to define the structure, function and advantages ofthe invention it is to be understood that the specific terminology isnot intended to be restrictive or confining and that variousrearrangements of parts and alternate combinations of elements may beresorted to without departing from the scope or spirit of the inventionas herein claimed.

I claim:

1. A bottle capping machine comprising a reciprocative punch, mechanismfor drawing a predetermined length of film thereunder when the punch iselevated, a cone within the punch for cupping the film disc struck bythe punch over the end of a bottle, yieldable fingers supported at eachend within the punch, and means for deflecting the central portions ofthe fingers against the neck of a bottle when the punch is in itslowered position.

2. A machine for making bottle caps from a ribbon of thin waterprooffibrous material comprising a stand for the support of the ribbon, aroller for the application of a waterproof adhesive upon said ribbon, aplaten for said ribbon adjacent said applicator roll, a punch forstriking cap blanks from the ribbon, a plurality of resilthereof, a stopon said punch, and a yieldable connection between said crank and saidpunch for bowing the central portions of the fingers inwardly when thepunch is held by said stop and the crank overrides the yieldableconnection.

4. A machine for forming and applying bottle caps comprising a gumapplicator, a pad thereon for printing spaced areas of the gum on afilm, a hollow punch for cutting blanks from the film, a cone in saidpunch having grooves therein for crimping the blank of film, camberedsprings supported at each end within said punch, means for increasingthe camber, thereby squeezing a blank upon the neck of a. bottle and afeed roll operable upon the film scrap for drawing unfabricated filmunder the punch.

5. A bottle capping machinecomprising a hollow punch for striking blankssuccessively from a continuous strip of film, mechanism forreciprocating said punch, a feed roll, pins on said roll for piercingthe lineal edge portions of the scrap film and pulling the strip awayfrom the punch, mechanism for rotating said feed roll before the punchengages the film, cambered spring fingers in said punch surrounding theneck of a bottle, and mechanism for increasing the camber in said springfingers and pressing I the blank punched from the strip of film intoient fingers in said punch, means for bowing the neck of a bottle,gearing for the intermittent reciprocation of said punch, a film feedroll and intimate engagement with the neck of the bottle. I 6. A machinefor capping bottles comprising mechanism for feeding a strip of paperover a. platen, a roll for-the application of an adhesive in spacedcircular medallions along the medial axis of the strip, a punch forcutting circular blanks of a greater diameter than the medallions andconcentric therewith from the strip, gearing for reciprocating saidpunch, spring steel inwardly cambered fingers within the punch, andmechanism for increasing the camber of the fingers and pressing theblank cut by the punch against the neck of a bottle.

'7. A machine for making bottle caps from a strip of paper andassembling said caps on the top and neck of a bottle comprising a feedroll for drawing the strip of paper over a die plate, a hollow punchintergeared with said roll for cutting circular blanks from the paperstrip, a gum roll disposed forwardly of the punch for the application ofan adhesive upon the under side of the strip, inwardly curved springsteel fingers within the punch, a helical spring in the punch supportingthe spring fingers in their unstressed form, stops on said punch todelimit the descent thereof, and a push rod coupled with said punch andengaged with said helical spring for bowing the spring fingers after thedescent of the punch is arrested by said stops.

8. A machine for making and applying gummed caps on a bottle comprisinga tubular punch mechanism for drawing a strip of g'ummed paper under thepunch, a shoulder in the free end of the punch, a plate within the punchadjacent the upper end thereof, a reciprocative push rod connected withsaid plate, a helical spring intermediate said shoulder in the punch andsaid plate for pushing said punch downwardly, a plurality of inwardlybowed steel fingers intermediate said shoulder and said plate, and meanson said punch to delimit the descent thereof and thereby effect agreater inward deflection of the spring fingers as the push rodcontinues its descent, whereby a cap blank cut by the punch will bepressed into intimate engagement with the top and neck of a bottletelescopically engaged with the punch.

ARTHUR H. EDGERTON.

REFERENCES CITED Number 8 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Gabriel 1=Mar. 13, 1900 Potts 1' 1 Jan. 8, 1907 Fulenwider et a1. Apr. 30, 1907Lassen 1 Dec. 12, 1911 Smith 1 Jan. 31, 1928 Booth Apr. 24, 1934 Runde1lMay 15, 1934 Landon Nov. 20, 1934 Fischer Jan. 1, 1935 Thomsen Jan. 1,1935 Glunz Aug. 4, 1936 MacCordy June 1, 1937 Booth Oct. 10, 1939 MarekNov. 21, 1939 Baum 1 Feb. 13, 1940

